Why is the United States not being stubborn anymore?, Spending money to return to UNESCO, wanting to return to UNESCO | United States

On June 12th, UNESCO announced a news: five years after withdrawing from the group, the United States has decided to repay the fees and return to the organization.

Previously, due to dissatisfaction with Palestine's accession and other reasons, the United States and Israel insisted on withdrawing. However, just last week, the US State Department submitted a letter to the organization proposing a return plan.

The outside world is curious, why is the United States not being stubborn?

US officials are straightforward: this move aims to counter China's influence in the organization, especially in setting standards for global artificial intelligence and technology education.

Willing to repay outstanding debts

According to the UNESCO website, the US letter has two main points. Firstly, we welcome the efforts made by UNESCO in recent years to address new challenges, promote modern management, and ease political tensions; The second is to list a schedule for repaying debts and rejoining the association.

Last December, the US Congress approved a bill authorizing the government to invest funds into UNESCO to restore membership.

Therefore, in March of this year, the Biden administration applied for a funding of $150 million in the next fiscal year's budget. Next, the United States will pay the membership fee for 2023 and a donation of $10 million.

In the coming years, the United States will gradually repay the outstanding membership fees of approximately $619 million.

However, according to organizational procedures, the return of the United States still needs to be submitted to the organization's General Assembly of Member States and voted on by 193 members.

It is expected that there is little doubt that member countries will approve the return of the United States. After all, the United States had always been the largest contributor to the organization before its withdrawal, with annual dues accounting for 22% of the organization's budget.

Why return

UNESCO was established in 1946 with the aim of promoting cooperation among countries through education, science, and culture, and contributing to world peace and security.

The United States is a founding member of UNESCO. But looking back on the past few decades, the relationship between the two has not always been harmonious.

During the Cold War, the two sides had differing opinions on ideological issues; Recently, it has been difficult to reconcile differences over the Palestinian Israeli issue.

In 1983, the Reagan administration announced its withdrawal the following year, citing poor management, corruption, and "favoritism" towards the Soviet Union. It was not until the Bush administration in 2002 that the United States announced its return.

But the good times didn't last long.

In 2011, the organization voted to accept Palestine as a member state, sparking anger from the United States and Israel. Both countries have stopped providing funding to the organization.

In 2017, then President Trump announced his withdrawal the following year, citing the organization's long-standing anti Israel bias and poor management.

However, the public opinion at the time believed that part of the reason for the United States' withdrawal was to alleviate the pressure of arrears of huge membership fees. The deeper reason was that, unlike its veto power in the United Nations Security Council, the United States could not fully control the situation at UNESCO and therefore chose to leave arbitrarily.

So, after 5 years, why is the United States willing to repay the money and join the membership again?

The outside world believes that there are mainly two reasons behind it.

On the surface, the current Director General of the organization has made positive efforts.

In October 2017, former French Minister of Culture and Jewish person Azoule was elected as the Director General of the organization, which sparked cautious optimism within the United States and Israel.

It is said that Azuli had tried to persuade the United States and Israel to reconsider their withdrawal decision, but was unsuccessful. Afterwards, Azuli will promote the return of the United States as his top priority during his tenure.

According to American media, since taking office, Azuli has been committed to promoting consensus on sensitive resolutions between Jordan, Palestine, and Israel through budget reforms to resolve the issue of US withdrawal. She is also holding meetings with bipartisan members of the US Congress in Washington to explain the efforts made by the organization.

"The decision of the United States to return is the result of the past five years of work," Azoulai told American media.

At a deeper level, the fundamental reason why the United States is willing to shelve the Israeli Palestinian dispute is that China's growing influence in the organization and its prospects for participating in the formulation of rules related to artificial intelligence have made the United States uneasy.

"I am convinced that we should return to UNESCO. This is not a gift to the organization, but because it is doing something very important - developing rules, norms and standards for artificial intelligence." US Secretary of State Antony Blinken said when he submitted the budget document to the Senate Appropriations Committee last year that the United States hopes to participate in it. The absence of the United States allows China to establish rules for artificial intelligence.

In March of this year, US Deputy Secretary of State Buzz stated that UNESCO plays a crucial role in developing and shaping global standards for technology and science education. Joining the organization again will help the United States compete with China globally. For a series of clear interests, we cannot be absent from this critical platform anymore.

According to sources, the United States hopes to return as soon as possible in order to run for a seat in the UNESCO Executive Committee elections held in November this year.

Wait and see

On the 12th, the Palestinian Ambassador to UNESCO did not comment on the decision of the United States to return.

The outside world is turning its attention to Israel, which once withdrew with the United States and is now in a lonely situation.

UNESCO officials say that if Israel wants to rejoin, the organization also welcomes it. The Israeli government did not immediately respond to this.

On the same day, Yang Jin, the Permanent Representative of China to the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO), expressed that China appreciates the efforts made by UNESCO to restore its membership in the United States. The absence of the United States has indeed had a "negative impact" on the organization's work; Becoming a member of an international organization is a serious issue, and we hope that the return of the United States this time means that it recognizes the mission and goals of the organization.

As stated by the spokesperson of the Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs, international institutions are platforms for international cooperation, not battlefields for promoting geopolitical games.

Is the United States really shifting from isolationism to multilateralism, from stubbornly leaving to actively returning? Or to demonstrate once again its hegemonic attitude towards international mechanisms of "using what is beneficial and discarding what is unfavorable" through actions?

The international community is waiting to see.